Experienced mediator and arbitrator acting in a range of fields – general commercial, technology, intellectual property, media, leisure and consumer among others. Click here to find out more.

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Welcome

Now the dust is settling on the GDPR, and our Inboxes are recovering from the avalanche of consent requests, now is the time to consider some other aspects of EU Law – so I have put up a note on dispute resolution in commercial contracts in the light of Brexit. Have a look at the note here.

The Law Office of Richard Stephens (LORS) is a boutique IT law practice and provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, including arbitration, mediation and adjudication. LORS consists of Richard together with his Senior Consultant, Oscar Rowlands.

While a “boutique”, LORS counts among its clients some of the largest companies in the world as well as a wide range of SME’s all of whom value our specialist advice across a range of IT Law areas. We also link to other professionals, so can provide a complete service even for large or complex transactions. You can find out more about it here.

One of Richard’s strengths is his ability to provide training in his various specialisations – from basic training provided for non-lawyers right through to his highly regarded training for lawyers. You can find out more about it here.

On the dispute resolution side, Richard Stephens also works as mediator, adjudicator and arbitrator in commercial cases, especially those with some sort of technology or communications aspect. In one or other of these capacities, Richard has acted in cases large and small. You can find out more about it here.

We hope you find it all useful – feel free to let us know what you think, or if you have any comments on the material we have posted here!

UPDATES ON IT AND COMMERCIAL LAW

Little things indeed – all those clauses tucked away at the end of a typical commercial contract, dealing with a miscellany of circumstances. They don’t always receive the attention they deserve – one such is the humble force majeure clause. A couple of recent cases show that they are not perhaps so useful as you might have thought – and how a few tweaks can make them more effective.

As the UK political parties trade blows with each other – and with their fellow party members too – the consequences of Brexit are being discussed openly. One possible consequence could have major repercussions given the importance of the internet for modern business and needs to be given early consideration.

UPDATES ON ADR

Whether you think of Brexit as a sad farewell to a noble project to unify Europe or a welcome chance to escape the clutches of the Evil Empire, business must go on – and that means preparing for obvious risks. One of those risks is how commercial disputes with continental businesses will be handled after Brexit. The problem is not all plain sailing.

Any decision maker (judge, arbitrator, adjudicator, whatever) is used to having one, and possibly both (or all) of the parties dissatisfied when the decision comes out. There may be some sort of appeal process, but what happens if one party argues that the whole thing was unfair – that the arbitrator is guilty of a “serious irregularity”. The facts of SCM Financial Overseas v Raga Establishment [2018] EWHC 1008 (Comm) show just how broad an arbitrator’s discretion is.